Madhatter's Magnificent Market

Comfort Soups and Chili.  Recipes for warming the soul in the cooler and coldest months of the year.  A variety of chili’s, with beans and without, including a meatless chili.  Both broth based and cream based soups.  Comfort soups and chili are the best part of the Fall season, next to the leaves changing colors, kids back to school and football.

The Season Changes

School is back in session after a busy summer and plenty of sunshine and heat.  My alarm goes off with the same annoying “Radar” sound it did last year at this same time. After a summer of sleeping in daily, re-establishing the school routine is a brand new chore.  It will take months before I get used to this early morning activity again.  I stretch, I yawn, I contemplate hitting snooze.  But I know once I do then there is a chance I will sleep through the next alarm and the next.  I push back the covers from around my shoulders. I shudder and shiver when the blankets no longer surround my body.  Rolling out of bed in the morning, I feel the floor cool to touch.  Cooler than it has been for the last several months.  Everything is cooler.  The air I breathe in feels cooler.

Alas, I am up and starting to alert the kids the alarm for them will soon ring too.  When I give them a pre-warning and a warning before the alarm goes off, I get less attitude.  I head to the kitchen to make me a cup or two of coffee.  With the kids back in school, I decided to start my special coffee diet.  I can drink just a couple cups and feel incredibly alert and focused without being jittery.  Because it reduces my appetite, I eat like a bird all day.  With the kids home all summer, I felt like my whole day was about food.  Everyone was hungry ALL of the time!  Now, a little protein for breakfast is enough with my coffee.  Then a small healthy snack for lunch or a quick bowl of any of my comfort soups and chili recipes and I am good.

What’s on the Menu?  Comfort Soups and Chili!

After a windy day in cooler temperatures, that’s a good reason to choose your dinner from my list of comfort soups and chili recipes.  When the nights start to feel like fall is settling in and the air is more crisp, it’s time to break out the comfort soups and chili recipes.  There is nothing more comforting than a hot bowl of soup or chili on a cold day.

Chili Diet for Weight Loss – This is a comprehensive look into the history of chili.  A reference guide for understanding and knowing your chili variations.  Before testing any of the below chili recipes, I highly recommend reading this article first!

HERE THEY ARE:  COMFORT SOUPS AND CHILI

Please note, this page is a work in progress.  Each recipe will include suggestions for how to serve and what the recipe pairs with well, sides and beverages.

Healthy Tuscan Vegetable Soup – A vegetable heaven in a broth.  Comfort food with supercharged nutrients.  An inviting soup that is full of flavor and won’t leave you hungry 30 minutes later.  This is a great soup for those working on trimming their bodies.   Indulge and be guilt-free!

Homemade Chicken Noodle Dumpling Soup with Wine – Everybody’s go-to-soup when you are feeling ill or a little homesick.  This classic soup combines homemade noodles made from scratch, kneaded and cut by hand PLUS the original Bisquick dumpling.  Using fresh vegetables and a handful of herbs and spices this recipe will carry you into nostalgia and hug you like your mom.  With hints for recipe cheats, this is quick and easy to make anytime.

Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup – A super simple, quick and easy soup for that chilly afternoon after a long day at work.  From start to finish, you can have this on the table in no time at all.  An inexpensive classic soup just right to fill you up.  Serve it up to friends and family and they will think you have slaved away all day.

Idaho (Meatless) Chili – This recipe has few ingredients but includes the famous Idaho potato.  There is no meat in this recipe, although it is an option and works well with the other ingredients.  This recipe is one version of thousands across the nation.  There is a surprise ingredient in this recipe that is grown in Northern Idaho.  Hence, the name Idaho Chili.  The ingredient is grown on the beautiful Palouse.  You will definitely want to try this light, yet warm and filling chili.  It borders on being a soup, yet is not a stew for sure.

Its an Artichoke Soup Day – From the unexpected to the whimsical adventure of informal cooking. For those of you not afraid to try new ideas. A free-lance combination of ingredients. This is fun in the kitchen — bring out the magic!

Lil Smokie Chili – A hearty, meaty and full-bodied earthy chili recipe you have been waiting for and didn’t know it.  This is a meat eater’s heaven with the right chili flavor and not too much heat.  This is a recipe that works well for feeding meat loving crowds.  With all the varieties of chili, this is one that is similar to most but the addition of the lil’ smokies sets it apart from other chilis.  Fix this once and see if it becomes one of your family favorites!

Texas Style Chili con Carne – A real classic version of a Texas chili with no beans.  They say everything is bigger in Texas.  This chili is no exception.  With roasted dried chilies, this recipe has a smoky flavor worthy of any big heart of Texas.  Surely, it will win your heart over too.  Slowly simmered beef chunks are tender and hearty.  Best made a day in advance, then refrigerated and re-heated when all the flavors have absorbed.  A spice blend that is top notch and even beneficial to your health.  Get out your stock pot or your old Dutch oven and get ready to simmer!

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